At the end of the Second World War, Finland was forced to meet difficult demands from the Soviet Union. One of the most remarkable was the evacuation and leasing of a large area west of Helsinki to the USSR for 50 years to establish a naval base. With no real choice, Finland evacuated over 7,000 people, 8,000 animals, and vast amounts of food and supplies—all within just a few days.
However, due to shifting geopolitics and the high cost of maintaining the base, the USSR unexpectedly returned the area in 1956—decades before the lease was set to expire. Today, nearly 70 years later, traces of this dramatic era still remain, although many are hidden beneath layers of history.
Your guide will take you back to those years, revealing bunkers, trenches, abandoned sports stadiums, railway tracks, and airfields. Along the way, you’ll hear stories and personal memories from local people that bring this extraordinary chapter of history to life. In Kirkkonummi, Siuntio, and Degerby, you will discover concrete traces of the Soviet presence and how this once-forgotten naval base shaped the region and its people.
Highlights of the tour:
Manor grounds with military orders in Cyrillic script still visible on the walls
Artillery bunkers
Triumphal arch and General Sergei Kabanov’s artillery road
Russian cemetery
Included in the price:
Guiding throughout the tour (approx. 3 hrs)
Optional services (affecting the basic price):
Lunch and/or coffee break
Vehicle arrangement (pick-up location and tour start to be agreed upon)
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